Cashavelly Morrison

BIOGRAPHY

Cashavelly Morrison has experienced a lot since the release of her first highly-acclaimed alt-country album, The Kingdom Belongs to a Child, back in 2015. On a personal note, she gave birth to her daughter. On a more global scale, she watched the 2016 and election of Donald Trump play out amidst the protests of the #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and March for Our Lives movements. As working musicians and the parents of two young children, all of these events weighed heavily on the minds of Morrison and her husband, guitarist/banjo player Ryan MacLeod, as they crafted the music and message of Hunger, her newest album set for release on November 2nd, 2018.

The crux of the album is laid bare in the title track, with its Wild West slide guitar accenting a violent vision of the vulnerable being hunted by those in power. “This song’s meaning is representative of the meaning of the entire album,” Morrison says, “that those in power who use the disadvantaged for their own personal gain are making a toxic, malignant bargain—a bargain that hurts them as much as it hurts others.”

Throughout the album’s journey, Morrison explores many of today’s most important issues, weaving stories in her signature mountain ballad confessional style. In “Gunmaker,” she imagines a crisis of conscience within a gunmaker whose craft earns a living that enables him to care for his daughter, even as it puts her and other children in constant danger. For “Ashes White,” Morrison takes on racism as she tells the story of a white woman responsible for the murder of an innocent black man.

Morrison is a master at taking personal themes and presenting them in a manner in which they become universal. “Who Will Testify” is a perfect example of this, as she calls out those who build their lives and reputations on a foundation of deceit. “I wrote the song about someone I once knew, but sometimes I hear it as me speaking directly to Trump,” she says. From female body image to personal responsibility and empowerment, Hunger is an album that’s brimming with music that resonates on both an individual and a societal level.

With her debut album garnering comparisons to Neko Case and Townes Van Zandt, the release of Hunger is hotly anticipated by fans across the globe. With a title track music video by director S. Cagney Gentry currently in the works, the album is set for release on November 2nd. In addition to its digital and CD release, Hunger will also be available for purchase in vinyl. A release kickoff concert will follow on November 3rd at The Ramkat in Winston-Salem, N.C.